The Little Quirks of Fate
by SevenCorvus
Summary: Pairing: SteveTony Warnings: spoilers for Civil War, slash, dark themes Disclaimer: I own nothing, except in my dreams. Author's Note: This is an AU fixit for Civil War. It's going to be pretty angsty, so don't expect fluff any time soon.
1. Chapter 1

There is a certain elegance to death, a certain finality which seems almost inherent. Death in and of itself implies a level of closure. While mourning may occur, death is after all an inevitability in all but a few situations.

Ah.

But then it is those few occasions which skew one's world view regarding death. Exceptions too apparently implausible to believe. Of course in the world he lived in death was not uncommonly succeeded by a paradoxical impossibility.

Life.

The irony of such an occurrence was all too obvious, yet in such cases one could almost see the unexpected workings of fate.

He was a big believer in fate, always had been. And with the coincidences and accidents that had guided his entire life that was certainly understandable. Yet he could never have predicted this. Then again, nothing about this year had been predictable.

Things had just moved too fast. Events quickly spiraling out of control. His best friend's evident betrayal was like a sucker punch to the gut that the passage of time could not lessen. It had shaken his iron resolve. Thrown him off course. If there was anything in this world that he had thought he could always depend on it was Tony. The loss of that rock had devastated him in a way that even losing decades of time in the ice hadn't.

He knew he hadn't made the best decisions. Hadn't been thinking clearly enough to be justifiably viewed as a leader. But then that was the trap he all too often fell into. Justifiably or not, people often looked to him for direction, for leadership. Ignoring the possibility of incorrectness, of failure. When you're viewed by so many with such respect, such idealized perspectives, it's hard to think objectively. To keep an open mind.

It was one of the many things he could depend on Tony for. Not letting him take himself too seriously. Remembering he was only human.

Regardless, his fate had been in direct consequence of his actions, of his decisions. Until the moment his life once again took an unexpected turn as he lay on the ground feeling his life flee from him as quickly as it had been awaken from the ice all those years ago. And that was the end of it.

Or so he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

One can never really predict the little quirks of fate. So it was with some irony that Steve Rogers once again drew his first breathe. As he slowly became aware of himself and his surroundings, he looked around with some bemusement. Only for complete consciousness to come rushing back as he recalled the events that had transpired. Reflexively looking down, he saw that the wounds that had resulted in his death had miraculously healed. In fact he seemed to be in better shape physically than he had in recent times, Cap realized as he got up and began to examine his surroundings more closely. 

It appeared that he was by himself in an unremarkable abandoned building. Determined to establish his location and the time, Steve held onto his objectives in the hopes that they would keep his confusion and apprehension at bay. Leaving the building and continuing down the street, he realized that he was in New York and by the looks of things, in a time not much different from what he last saw. Deciding in a fit of nostalgia to return to the ruins of the Avenger's Mansion, he was instead shocked to see that it had in fact been rebuilt almost exactly the same.

His curiosity sparked, Cap approached the door and knocked in the hopes of discovering what had happened in his absence. He waited in some trepidation as foot steps came nearer and the door was slowly opened. "Can I help you?" a voice inquired. As Steve opened his mouth to respond, the other man finally got a good look at him.

Thud!

The unflappable Jarvis had fainted for the first and only time in his life. Steve rushed forward to revive and help the fallen butler to his feet, astonished and delighted to see him once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Having received much of the information he was seeking, Steve thought that he should feel more comfortable about the situation. Sitting at the kitchen table in the newly rebuilt Avenger's Mansion, he looked around at some of his fellow Avengers, who after confirming his identity were overjoyed to see him again. Disconcerted by their, dare he say, clinginess, Steve got straight to the point, demanding updates on what occurrences he had missed.

From what he had gathered, it appeared that 6 months had passed since his death, something that he was still desperately avoiding thinking about. In those months, the Registration Act had miraculously been overturned, pardons had been given, and Fury had once again taken control of S.H.E.I.L.D. It all seemed too good to be true. While he had often hoped for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Steve would never have dreamed that things could have been resolved so smoothly in such a short span of time.

Contemplating the situation, he couldn't help but think there was something he was missing, some wrinkle in the wonderful news he had received. When in a flash it came to him. Tony. How could he have forgotten Tony. It had been a thought in the back of his mind since he had first woken up. Asking his teammates about Tony, he was surprised by their response. Looking anxiously at each other, they told him that no one had heard from him since the mansion had been rebuilt. Resolute, he stood up suddenly, knowing clearly that he needed to see Tony and clear the air between them.

Walking to Stark Tower, Steve remembered all that had happened between them and could only wish that things would be resolved just as smoothly. Entering the Tower, he took the elevator up to the top floor, hoping he would find Tony there. Exiting, he walked down the hall towards Tony's room, becoming anxious at the oppressive silence that seemed to fill the air. Knocking at the closed door, he grew more concerned at the lack of response, knowing he would have likely sensed Steve's presence through the Extremis. Gently opening the door and making his way inside, he froze paralyzed at what lay before him.


	4. Chapter 4

Reality is a funny thing. It is almost entirely a matter of perception. He had certainly run into a number of villains who seemed to be trying to influence a reality that wasn't there. And for a man as smart as he was, it would not be all that difficult to purposefully alter the way he perceived reality. Extremis would make such an endeavor even simpler. Yet as tempting as the thought was to alter his reality to one where Steve had never existed, or even better still alive somewhere, Tony held back, terrified that such a change could damage his mental state even more and cause him to do more harm that he would always regret.

No, better to not take such a risk. Instead he went back to his tried and true method of shutting down emotionally. Keeping himself locked into such a blank state, that nothing could touch him, could hurt his resolve to see what was necessary through. And it had worked, he had managed to get through months and months of mind numbing work, but that was done with. He had done what he had set out to, he had gotten registration overturned, the Avengers mansion rebuilt, and the team back together, thought that was more in spite of him than because. Tony thought it was what Steve would have wanted, but now it was time to get back to what he wanted.

His hold on his emotions had finally crumbled under the stress, and he had given in, happy to lose himself under the deluge. Wanting nothing more than to be torn apart by his torrent of thoughts and feelings. Nothing could find or disturb him here; nothing could get through to him to cause further pain. Tony was done, he had given everything he could, and now without something or someone to support him there was nothing else.

He had shut off the Extremis, closed himself off from the outside world, and let his mind drift, sifting through thoughts aimlessly. He hadn't even noticed when someone entered the room, too wrapped up in himself. When a harsh gasp echoed around him, Tony blearily lifted his head from the corner he was pressed into, somehow not surprised to see Steve standing there.

In all his wildest dreams, Steve could never have expected this. He had been worried about Tony, but he hadn't anticipated that things could have gotten this bad. Tony hadn't even noticed him, too trapped in whatever nightmares were in his mind. He was huddled against the far corner of the room, almost like he was trying to sink into the walls. Steve had first thought he was dead, white pale skin hung on a skeletal structure, the bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep seemed to take up his whole face. Only when he saw Tony's chest rising and falling slightly with breath was he somewhat reassured, his friend wasn't completely gone from him yet. Still, he fought a rising panic, Tony's whole posture screamed of a defeated animal hiding to lick its wounds while waiting for death to take him.

What had brought his brilliant friend to this point? What had happened in his absence that could have caused such deterioration? Steve must have made some sound involuntarily as Tony finally realized his presence. Gathering his courage together to begin speaking, his breath was halted in his throat as he noticed that Tony had begun muttering to himself. Shock grew as Steve recognized that the other man was speaking of him as a hallucination, thrilled that his mind had provided him a companion temporarily as he awaited his end. No. Tony couldn't be that far gone. He couldn't have failed his friend before he even got a chance to help.


End file.
